The Independent Dispute Hearing Office of the National Elections Commission, (NEC) has commenced a two-day Adjudication Dispute workshop for 19 Elections Magistrates throughout the Country, with a call for Elections Workers to take responsibility of their actions.
Making the call today, Monday 16 November 2020 in the James M, Fromayan Conference Hall, the Chairperson of the NEC Davidetta Browne Lansanah said gone are the days when the Board of Commissioners of NEC will take full responsivity of actions of Elections Magistrates.
Chairperson Browne Lansanah said NEC Magistrates are very powerful group of people during elections and must take full responsibility of their actions.
The NEC Boss said this is way the BOC takes very seriously the ongoing investigation of three of its Elections Magistrates from Grand Cape Mount, Grand Gedeh and Bomi counties on allegations of electoral irregularities mainly during the 2020 Voter Roll Update exercise.
Earlier, Commissioner Boakai A. Dukuly who has Oversight Responsibility for Political Affairs said the attitudes of Magistrates during this election period will critically under the spot length of all Liberians mainly the Political Parties.
NEC’s 19 Elections Magistrates at the ongoing Adjudication Training Workshop in the James M. Fromayan Conference Hall.
Commissioner Dukuly warned Magistrates to be careful in their deeds and actions, warning them not to attend what he describes as other people’s meeting or not to act as partisans but to maintain the highest level of confidence reposed them over the years by Commission to conduct free, fair and transparent elections.
The Head of the United Nations Development Program, UNDP, Electoral Support Project to Liberia Lenka Homolkova said the UNDP with funds from the German Government was glad to collaborate with the NEC’s Dispute Hearing Office to help train Elections Magistrates to properly handle elections related cases during and after the conduct of elections. The UNDP Electoral Support Project Boss said the Magistrates will receive training manual in the areas of an impartial and informed arbitral, Established burdens of proof and standards of evidence, availability of meaningful and effective remedies and a system that judicially expedites decisions.